Jim Cramer to lead off spring Bucknell Forum

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LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC's breakout hit "Mad Money," best-selling author, and co-founder of the Internet financial news hub TheStreet.com, will lead off the spring 2008 lineup for the national speaker series, "The Bucknell Forum: The Citizen & Politics in America."

Cramer, whose talk is titled, "The Capitalist Citizen and Democracy," will speak at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29.

The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Ticket distribution will be announced early in 2008. (Update: Ticket information announced.)

Democratic responsibilitiesCramer is the "single-best investment person I've ever known" and the "best person I can think of" to address the topic of a citizen's capitalist yearnings and democratic responsibilities, said Wall Street colleague and long-time friend, William Gruver, professor of management and executive in residence at Bucknell University.

"Jim is a populist. Jim believes that everybody, if they are willing to do the necessary level of work, can get wealthy," said Gruver. "But it's not through following tips. It’s through actually having a disciplined investment approach and putting the time in to stay on top of it. And I think he feels similarly about democracy – that democracy only works when people put the time in to make it work."

(Audio: William Gruver talks about meeting Cramer the first time, their Wall Street relationship, and several topics Cramer might address at Bucknell.)

"The Jim Cramer you see on 'Mad Money' is not the Jim Cramer I know," said Gruver. "And, most people who know Jim, it's not the Jim Cramer they know. He's like any good actor or actress. They have an onstage persona and then there is the real persona."

Harvard law graduateThe Harvard University School of Law graduate, whose "Mad Money" program has more than 200,000 nightly viewers, also hosts a nationally syndicated radio program on the CBS Radio Network and serves as the "Bottom Line" columnist for New York magazine.

His latest book, Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich, has topped The New York Times Business Bestsellers List. His other books include Jim Cramer's Real Money and Confessions of a Street Addict.

Other upcoming Bucknell Forum events include a Feb. 6 panel of religion and politics experts who will lead a discussion titled, "Religion and Politics in America." On March 17, best-selling author Barbara Ehrenreich will speak on "Class, Citizenship, and the Presidency." Pulitzer-prize winning syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts will speak on March 24.

The Bucknell ForumCramer's talk will be the fourth event in the national speaker series, "The Bucknell Forum: The Citizen & Politics in America," which has been exploring issues in the 2008 presidential campaign, notably those at the forefront of the national discourse. The series features nationally renowned leaders, scholars, and commentators exploring these issues from multi-disciplinary perspectives and offers opportunities for campus and community conversations.

NBC newsman Tim Russert was The Bucknell Forum's inaugural speaker in September. In October, a panel of national political correspondents from among the country's most influential print, broadcast, and online news sources discussed the role that media play in shaping the presidential election and the issues affecting the race. And in November, renowned political theorist Benjamin Barber spoke about the challenges facing democracy in America.

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